Social Hallucinations

TicTac Micha Rocks Again

TicTac Micha is back. He didn't stop to entertain the world after the great performance in Copenhagen. The great response from all over the world, the lots of fan emails showed that TicTac Micha is great and there is the need for more.
So he is back with the World tour. The first stop was in Malmö, Sweden where he rocked at the midsummer party!


and here is his first performance from Copenhagen - watch TicTac Micha video here.

Stay tuned for more updated from Micha's tour by visiting his website. :-)

Connected Silos

Online vs. offline, digital vs. analog - two different and opposite elements of the communication world. The media thinking is stigmatized by dualism that makes us perceive and understand the world as being divided into two categories that can't connect, but just exist one next to another divided by a silent wall of the silo thinking. Silos are easy to control and manage. Silos allows the regime of truth and can't surprise. When something came in, something must come out at the other end. But digital is not a silo. Every media have digital component and can be connected one with another.

1+1 =3

Connected silos that can communicate and connect online with offline reality creating the new immerse experiences. Two different elements that put together, create the new reality. The connected silos aren't the humans' extension they create the new dynamic structure, which we become a part of.

Does it exist, one may ask? See yourself.

Dissolving the Meaning

I've been going through oceans of fluff written by social media experts. 5 tips how to... 10 advice on how not to do...etc.
Many social media experts are on their quest to rule the world the way mass media did and still do. Social media experts claim the right to be legislators and impose us values. Their advice is becoming a contemporary myth, telling us what the best behavior is. Their efforts focus on convincing the world they say the truth. They are not neutral. They don't create the meaning for the social media. They make the meaning disappear, they dissolve the meaning of the communication facilitated by social media.
Communication that is impossible to reject, because it is the context and the background of contemporary times. Communication that teaches us about ourselves and our reality. If social media disappeared suddenly, we would feel like abandoned on the desert island...

Photo by Ahmed

Walled Gardens of Newspapers

"...But people don’t use the Times less than they did a decade ago. They use it more. The difference is that today they don’t have to pay for it. The real problem for newspapers, in other words, isn’t the Internet; it’s us. We want access to everything, we want it now, and we want it for free. That’s a consumer’s dream, but eventually it’s going to collide with reality: if newspapers’ profits vanish, so will their product." James Surowiecki, The New Yorker.

Newspapers should face the truth that they are not in newspaper industry but in information sector. Their job is to inform people and Image via Wikipediamake sure the news find the way to them as they want, not like newspapers want.
For sure there is the need for well paid journalists who can deliver high quality journalism and I am sure there will always be people who are willing to pay for quality content. As Surowiecki points out at the end of his article:

"(...)For a while now, readers have had the best of both worlds: all the benefits of the old, high-profit regime—intensive reporting, experienced editors, and so on—and the low costs of the new one. But that situation can’t last. Soon enough, we’re going to start getting what we pay for, and we may find out just how little that is."

Problem arises when we stick into channel and can't look outside its walls. Paper is just a carrier, there can still be delivered outstanding journalism online. It is content people are looking after and they are willing to pay for unique content that is interesting them. Newspapers tend to think about online in terms of accessibility, but it also has another dimension - exclusivity, where content becomes the socially desired object. Relevancy and quality are the key.
It is incredible to hear from the chief editor of Kristelig Dagblad - Erik Bjerager - that "Online media aren't able to replace newspapers at the moment".
It seems like there is no hope if this the mindset driving that industry. Ignorance? Fear of change? Lack of imagination?
We perceive ourselves as the innovative society, that is ahead of the game, but we are locked in the jail of thinking based on opposites - black vs. white, online vs. offline - industrial way of thinking. The way that makes it easier for us to create predictable routines. Today, we are living in liquid era where things merge, divide, transgress. We need to adapt to stay tuned.

Some say about the need of finding a business model, but the best business model is in first place to understand what drives people behavior and choices and then provide services products that are relevant, in other words - to get things done properly.

Something is Rotten in Danish Newspapers...

Indeed, it is. In the storm of declarations about digitalization, revolution...blah, blah, Danish newspapers seem not to really get the point and keep on talking about "the control of user experience".
Danish newspapers renewed their efforts to stop websites like Google News from linking to individual articles rather than a newspaper's homepage. Their argumentation - better control of user experience. This is rather silly move in the eyes of declining readership. Dying industry trying to keep the status quo and graving their own grave?
I always believed any form of news whether it is from newspaper or blog should be slippy, they should be easy accessible for its users. It is not about how you want to serve your news, but how people want them to read. It is about letting go and making sure your news find the way to people. This is the way to survive, not to control.
"The Danish Newspaper Publishers Association are frustrated that Google News in Denmark wants to list and link to articles of Danish newspapers without paying them royalties." Yes, keep on being frustrated while people find the news elsewhere...And then you will complain that you are dying and government should help you to survive. What about adapting to the market developments and focusing your efforts on reinventing your business model and ways of attracting readers instead on thinking out how to "better control the user experience".
As R. Murdoch said, journalists should understand that their role is to serve, not rule / control.

found at Global Voices Online

_{Photo by TalkingTree}

Looking into Future

We are getting closer to the end of the year and it means lots of predictions and trends coming to be heard around. While working on the presentation about the changes in media world taking place in the coming year, and the social behavior laying behind those changes, I've found this video that gives a look at the world of brands, media, communication, technology and that in 2010 done by Faris Yakob.

trends, predictions, media, future

Television Without Borders

I've come across an interesting news site Link TV that broadcasts programs that engage, educate and activate viewers to become involved in the world. Link TV mission is about giving people broader perspective on news and covering topics that aren't available in the US media. Lots of interesting news and topics covered. It is really worth exploring.

It is a good example of online taking role of educating people. I had an interesting discussion today about media literacy among youth today. The conclusion was that youth today lack tools for filtering and coping with the information overload. I've observed the tendency for taking the first information available for granted, they express rarely any criticism toward what they find on Google or watch in TV. There is definitely the need for this type of initiatives that have educational aspect and show diversity.

TV, education, media literacy

Internet is Disconnected

When you think about is, it is true. Plenty of information that isn't connected and can't be connected in easy way. Mash-ups are not spread as we would believe. But we are on the way to become more connected by ubiquitous mashing-up. See yourself.

Ubiquity for Firefox from Aza Raskin on Vimeo.

internet, mash up, Firefox

iPhone

Interesting chart from eMarketer about mobile content used by mobile phone types. We've been hearing for so long about mobile break through to come. Mobile advertising and content has been about to rock the world and change advertising for the last 8 years a least. The new technologies came but people habits never changed. People keep on using their mobiles for voice calls and text messaging. Technology changes, people don't. Some prophets believed however that technology will change people. It ain't happen as technology missed one important asset: Utility. Until iPhone came along and it wasn't about technology but about user experience. This is what gets people into mobile evolution.

iphone, emarketer, mobile internet

Social Media in Plain English

Good video from Common Craft showing the forces shaping social media. Good and easy to understand. Btw I recommend to visit Common Craft site. Their offering is EXPLANATION. Those hand drawings work great.

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social media, common craft

Search Meets Impatience

According to web usability guru J. Nielsen people are increasingly impatient and expect sites to delivery exactly what they are looking for. It is more about optimizing experiences to meet people's needs, instead of creating cool experiences that are just time wasters and don't give people what they were looking for.

People don't get to the information they need through webpage, today "only 25% of people travel via a homepage". The rest uses search and get directly to what they are interested in.

Search definitely rules and it is hard to expect today's consumer waste their time to find you. You must fear those who outsmart you on search. This is where the war for attention takes place.

marketing

How to Spread the Word?

Spreading word is pretty challenging and not easy task. What would you do to spread word? Run naked on the street and shout, give free TV sets or maybe involve cockroaches? Yikes!



ZOO YORK - the skateboard producer - announced "Spread the Word" contest. Participants have to post the video on YouTube showing how to spread the word. Cockroaches get definitely attention.

Funbook

It is apparently what Facebook applications are for - having fun.

There are 911,343,980 installs across 24,459 apps on Facebook. Read more about most popular application on Adonomics.

Tags: facebook, applications

Ad Skipping Have Influence on Sales

I've found very interesting artickle on a research on DVR owners. We already know that DVR owners watch fewer TV ads and the latest research by Information Resources Inc. showed that buying of new packaged products in households owning DVR was 5% lower han in non - DVR households. About 20% of all brands in the study lost statistically significant volume in DVR households.

Reality can't be ignored. Reality strikes back. It can't be your ad isn't seen anymore.

Read more here in Marketing mag.

    Technorati : DVR, advertising, marketing, sales, tivo 

100% Green and Social Fitness

The new fitness centre was opened in Copenhagen - Hello Fitness. It is 100% green - the training takes place in nature. It sounds enough appealing to me! Sports should be exercised outdoors. There is nothing worse than smelly and dampy gym. The Hello Fitness combines the nature with the community. The idea is to create the feeling of support between participants extendend to online community. There is always someone you can exercise with, there is always someone to support you in your efforts. Fabulous idea and the it costs only ca. $20 monthly, which equals one pizza and DVD. The choice is yours :-)

You can also become fan of Hello Fitness on Facebook (it is in Danish only)